Halloween is coming!

My favorite season is Fall, and my favorite holiday is Halloween. I love Fall because of the rainy weather, windstorms, the smell in the air, and the rich colors. And Halloween? Well, it's not the candy. It's not handing out candy to the local kids, or even the opportunity to dress up (although I do wish I had an excuse to dress up more often). Nope, it's the decorations - I am a sucker for Halloween decorations!

My husband has (affectionately) called me a shill, an advertiser's dream, because of my propensity to look at something small and call it "cute". I think this is a normal phenomenon in American women actually. It's not hurting anyone, right? Well, I guess we're fueling the advertising industry into pitching more and more ridiculous things to us. Eh, oh well. But I have to ask everyone: when was the last time you looked at something and called it "cute", even though it didn't have a face?

Anyway, I was talking about Halloween decorations. I am in love with vintage holiday decorations, especially those with a Victorian theme. I went to Edmond's Waterfront Antique Malla few days ago to see if I could score any Halloween stuff before October officially arrived and reminded everyone to start looking. It would have been a disappointment if I hadn't found a stash of wall decorations semi-hidden in a corner behind a record collection. I couldn't believe it! I have no idea what year they are from, but they look very much like the type that I remember decorating my elementary school classrooms. What do you think?



So while I was taking that picture, I decided it was time to introduce our kittie Nikka to my existing collection of collectibles. Previous attempts with Kyra and Fiona did not go well, mostly because I tried manhandling them into a ceramic jack-o-lantern. So this time I just brought some stuff to put around Nikka when she was already relaxing on the couch. She was surprisingly calm! And adorable!!



But the fun doesn't stop there! Yesterday I hit a bunch of shops looking for some Halloween crafting items to turn into jewelry:





While I was at Target, I discovered a secret display at the end of the seasonal section: Boo Berry, Franken Berry, and Count Chocula cereals!!! I had never heard of these cereals until my husband got a box of Boo Berry for Christmas one year. For some reason General Mills thinks that we here in the Pacific Northwest aren't interested in these cereals, except maybe every other Halloween, which is about how often you'll find a display at Target. Weird, huh? I grabbed a bunch to share with Eric, and after one day, one box of Frank Berry has already bit the dust:



Finally, back to jewelry... I decided it would be fun to try to make some Halloween jewelry to put into my shop, if only to grab Etsians searching for Halloween items and lure them into my shop! My hope is to make some inexpensive necklaces that use a mix of gemstones and glass, and offer removable Halloween charms to go with them. I have to tell you if you haven't heard this before: Seattle's Display and Costume store is the BEST place to find holiday items, but they really shine for Halloween. I found a bunch of charms that were perfect! Here's a sneak-peak of what I'm working on: